The invention relates generally to damping elements for controlling machine vibrations and for improving dynamic stiffness of a machine tool. In particular, the invention relates to an apparatus for damping machine vibrations by means of a way damper applied at the interface of machine slides.
Machine tool systems are generally comprised of elements which comprise a spring-mass-damper arrangement, the parameters of which effect excitation amplitudes and frequencies of generated vibrations. As a means of controlling the vibrations, designers have generally sought to alter the spring-mass-damper elements one-by-one or in combination to shift or change the vibration characteristics. The most generally applied prior art device has been a mass damper block which is secured to either a movable or stationary element of a machine structure, wherein the damper block is typically mounted through spring supports and suitable fasteners. A drawback of the prior art damper block arrangement is that the additional mass must be physically accomodated by the machine envelope, which may possibly result in unwanted intrusions of usable machine space, and further, the mass must be often propelled with machine slides, thus creating important design considerations for the feed mechanisms which may be employed.
Applicant has obviated the difficulties inherent in the prior art arrangement by means of a novel machine way damper which is applied at the slide interface zone to create an overall compact design, and an effective solution for influencing the dynamic stiffness of a machine tool in a desired manner.